Just a rage and three kinds of yes
by Nightengale
Summary: When dream extractors try to extract information from Yusuf leaving only mess behind, Ariadne, Eames, and Arthur go out for revenge.


NOTE: I originally wrote this as a section to my story The Architect, The Forger, and The Point Man from my Extraction by Three universe but it didn't end up fitting. So! I revamped the baby and made it into it's own stand alone. Feel free to check those two out for background but it's not necessary. Plus, who doesn't love a bit of vengeance with the best extraction trio ever? [And the title is from an Interpol song!]

* * *

When Ariadne, Eames, and Arthur each receive a message from Yusuf, the words 'please come' at the top, Ariadne is at Arthur's door within ten minutes. She bangs on the door then swings it open. Arthur stands in the hall waiting, Eames just behind him.

"Did you…"

"Yes," they both reply.

"So, now?"

"Yeah." Arthur throws Ariadne the keys to his car.

Eames walks around Arthur and out the door past Ariadne. "Right now."

It takes them less than 30 minutes to book plane tickets, 18 hours flight time to Mombassa, and fifteen more minutes to find a cab before they stand in front of his shop.

Eames stops short when they swing open the door. "Good God!"

The entire floor of the shop could be made of glass with the amount of shattered bottles and jars and tubes coating its surface. A number of the shelves which were once fastened to the wall have fallen and the contents of Yusuf's desk are everywhere.

"Hurricane?" Ariadne says quietly.

Arthur just shakes his head.

A girl suddenly comes out of the back room, broom in one hand, the other grasping something behind her back. She relaxes when she sees Eames.

"Oh, Eames." She breathes out heavily and drops the broom.

Eames rushes over the fragments of glass and pulls her into a hug. Arthur and Ariadne follow after cautiously picking their way through the disarray.

"You all right, Cala?"

She nods and waves a hand around the room.

"You see what they did."

"What who did?" Arthur asks.

"The extractors."

Ariadne, Eames, and Arthur stiffen in one motion.

"Where is he?" Eames asks.

"Upstairs." Eames whips around her but she grasps his arm quickly. "Please, try to be quiet. He cannot sleep well since and… his eyes…"

Ariadne makes an angry noise and shoots a look at Arthur. Eames' lips are a tight line but he just nods at her. The three go through the back room and up the stairs to the apartment above. They find Yusuf lying on a battered orange settee with a blanket around him, cup of tea in hand and glasses on his face. He turns when they clatter up the stairs and sits up slowly.

"I see you received the message."

Eames walks over and sits beside Yusuf as he shifts up. Yusuf hands Eames his tea which the other puts on the floor.

"Bit of a mess down there, you see."

"If by bit you mean utter disaster," Ariadne mutters.

Eames flashes her a glare then touches Yusuf's shoulder. He turns to Eames and Eames doesn't have to ask. Yusuf just sighs and takes off his glasses.

"Not a pretty attempt at extraction. Their chemist needs a few lessons. I didn't need to see their architect's errors to know it was a dream just from the feel of it, nauseous almost instantly. The new ones always do that, try to do it all by adding extra components to bring out color or sound." He shakes his head. "Never works as they hope."

"What did they want, Yusuf?" Ariadne asks, sitting down in a chair against the wall.

"Ah, well. They'd somehow gotten the idea in their heads I was the chemist involved in the rumored inception job."

The trio all jerk slightly, eyes darting around to each other then back to Yusuf. The fact that anyone out there besides the original team knows about the inception job is not a good sign. Yusuf waves a hand in the air.

"It was all vague to them, have no fear. One cannot do an inception job and not cause some ripples. You should know this."

"We do," Arthur says, "but it shouldn't have led back to you."

Yusuf laughs darkly then stops abruptly. Eames watches Yusuf's fingers grip tightly onto the couch though his breathing stays carefully even. No one speaks again until Yusuf's hand falls back into his lap. He turns his head to Eames.

"Regardless of my involvement they wanted the method to making my formula and sedative. Perhaps they were interested in some inception of their own."

Ariadne huffs softly.

Eames does not look away from Yusuf though his head tilts at Ariadne's noise. "I take it they failed."

Yusuf smiles. "It is hard to extract from dream workers and they were not so good. I am sure you are aware."

"Doesn't mean they didn't leave a mess behind." They all know Arthur isn't just talking about the shop downstairs.

Everyone falls silent, nervous glances passing between the three guests. Then Ariadne cracks her knuckles and Arthur clears his throat. Yusuf turns his head in their direction.

"I'm going to see if you have anything salvageable downstairs." He touches Ariadne's shoulder. "Coming?"

Ariadne looks sharply at Arthur then slowly glances at Yusuf and Eames on the small couch. She stands up and follows Arthur down the steps without saying anything. Eames laughs once then rubs a hand across Yusuf's shoulders.

"Cala said you can't sleep."

Yusuf sighs. "She does worry so."

"Daughters tend to that I'm told."

"Especially the eldest; thinks she needs to take care of her father, not the other way around."

Eames shrugs. "Maybe this time she –"

Yusuf waves a hand to cut Eames off. "It will take a week and I will be back again. You know as well as I how to bounce back." He touches the side of his head. "It has never been the eyes though… not like this…"

Yusuf trails off and Eames knows now that Yusuf cannot see them. Eames grits his teeth. You trip over the wrong thing in someone's mind, turn the wrong way, push too far and even the dreamscape can affect the normal brain.

"It'll come back," Eames says quietly.

Yusuf breathes slowly and rubs a hand across his eyes. He laughs and nods at Eames.

"It's started." He turns to Eames and he widens his eyes. "A bit, cannot miss the pink of your shirt."

Eames swallows and doesn't say that his shirt is yellow.

When Eames walks back down the stairs, Ariadne and Arthur are waiting at the bottom. Eames reaches the ground floor and the three stare at each other. Finally, Ariadne crosses her arms.

"So, what's the plan?"

Arthur looks at Ariadne. "What we do best."

Eames sits in a chair with a black haired man across from him. Of course, to the man he doesn't look like himself; he looks like Yusuf. Between them is a small brown table, low to the ground with a row of glass bottles on top.

"Robert."

The man starts in surprise at the use of his name. "This can't be… is this a… how did you find me?"

"You didn't think you'd just get to walk away after that shoddy attempt at extraction did you? Couldn't even make a proper chemical."

The man gasps and starts to shake.

Ariadne stands on a bridge, brown and stone, and a woman stands directly across from her. The buildings on either side change shape as they watch each other, more intricate, squarer, boxier. Ariadne drops walls over the circular exits on either side, no way off the bridge, no projections to bother them. The woman looks from side to side, whirls around then stares hard at Ariadne.

"What is this about? Why have you brought me here?" She gestures angrily. "If you were really trying to get information why would you give it away?"

Ariadne walks closer and the bridge narrows, the sky grows grayer and suddenly it looks just like Mombassa. The woman gasps and steps back involuntarily.

"Oh god, you found us."

Ariadne nods. "You should have known, Melissa."

The woman reacts before Arthur can say anything. She reaches into her leather coat but finds nothing there. Arthur pulls his gun and she jumps up, kicking it from his hand. The gun hits the wall of the nondescript room and they both move together. She lunges for his jaw and he dodges, parrying with a punch to her stomach which she narrowly misses. They both swing for each other again, punches connecting, knocking both back at once. Arthur plants his hands on the wall to stop his spin and she hits the floor. Arthur rushes over but she's up again before he can take the advantage. She kicks, hits in him in the shin and he gasps. She uses his one second of distraction to try for the gun. That's her mistake and he slams her in the back before she reaches the weapon. She falls forward, whips over onto her back to get up but Arthur plants a foot on her chest and cocks the gun now in his hand.

"I win."

She pants and stares up at him, arms to her sides.

"Friend of the chemist's, are you?" She asks.

Arthur grins. "Been expecting me?"

"So," Eames says, Yusuf's accent sliding from his lips, "you are the chemist; you stood the most to gain from the extraction. No doubt you'd steal my method and then charge just a little less, get more business. The solution from inception, so you thought." Eames taps the table. "Money to be made."

"It wasn't like that!" the man insists, eyes darting around the room.

Eames tsks. "Oh, it certainly felt that way."

"No!" The man tries to push his chair back but for some reason it sticks fast to the floor. "No… it was… I just wanted… we didn't even learn anything! You figured it out!"

"Ah, yes, but not too pretty was it?" Eames clasps Yusuf's hands together and leans forward. "So new, aren't you? Trying to show off, were you, in my brain?"

The man jumps up. "You have no idea! What can you say about me?" He skitters around the chair to put it between the two of them. "You certainly look fine to me now!"

"And you didn't learn a thing for all your trouble in my head?"

The man pauses like he's just realized what he gave away. "I… maybe we…"

Eames tsks and stands up. "Clearly not the brains of the operation, are you?"

Then Eames pulls a gun from under the table. Robert holds up his hands and his eyes bug out with panic. He tries to back up, hitting another chair and knocking into the wall.

"Now, now, just wait! Like I said, we didn't learn anything! Okay, yeah, we took some stuff but that's nothing… I mean…"

"You stole my property, my best chemicals, my best work."

"I still have it!" Robert gestures behind Eames. "In the closet, take it back! Just calm down!"

Eames cocks the gun with a tiny smirk of Yusuf's lips.

"Wait, no, it was Kathryn's idea anyway! I'm not to blame. And I don't know how to make your formula! I'm not a threat! You don't need to kill me!"

Eames laughs, voice a different pitch. "Hardly the point." He shoots.

Ariadne stops just two feet away from the woman. She points at the world around them.

"You see what I can do?"

The woman nods.

"You know I am better than you."

After a pause the woman nods again.

"We know what you, your chemist, and your extractor did. We don't take attacks on our friends lightly. The only reason I let you know this was a dream was to show you what I can do."

The woman looks around, Mombassa gaining more life, windows, clothes lines, people far below. Rain drops start to fall but none touch Ariadne. Melissa crosses her arms, pushing her bangs to the side, and gives Ariadne a skeptical look.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that now you know if I brought you into a dream for real then you would never, ever know."

The woman breathes in sharply though she tries to remain calm. The rain grows heavier and the air more ominous. Melissa doesn't say anything and doesn't look Ariadne in the eye. She shivers, eyeing the rain, looking for something to get herself away from Ariadne. There is nothing. Ariadne smiles and snaps to bring Melissa's eyes back to her.

"I could rip any information I wanted out of you. I could build your nightmares and leave you there, even push you into limbo." Ariadne steps forward and whispers. "There is a reason I'm the best."

The woman swallows. "So, this is a warning?"

Ariadne smiles and shrugs. "Sort of." Then she pushes the woman over the edge of the bridge.

"Of the three of you, Kathryn, you are the only one with any sort of real skill." Arthur leans down, the pressure of his foot on her chest increasing. "So you're really most to blame."

"We are just the same as you." She gasps a little, trying to breathe deeper. "We extract secrets, we steal. There is no ban on who we steal from, that's why it's crime."

"Yeah, except that we're good at it and you aren't." Arthur shrugs. "Maybe with some time, better partners, maybe you could have been something. But too late for that."

"Are you going to kill me now?"

Arthur digs his heel in and Kathryn hisses in pain. "I should, I really should."

"Is that a no?"

"What do you know?" Arthur snaps suddenly.

She blinks. "Interrogation?"

"Are you surprised? You tried to extract from my friend. I think you failed but…" He eases his foot off slightly though not enough so she can move. "It doesn't hurt me to check."

"And why would I tell you?" Her hands ball into fists. "Why throw away my bargaining chip?"

Arthur lifts his foot and suddenly pounces on her, slamming her hard into the concrete floor and grabbing her neck to tilt up her chin. She groans in pain and grabs at his arms. He holds the gun in his other hand against her head and she stills.

"Because, Kathryn, if I should kill you, if that's my first thought, then what's going to keep me from a little bit of torture?"

Kathryn swallows loudly and stares up into his eyes. "You're not that kind of man."

Arthur digs his nails into her skin and she hisses in pain. "How do you know?"

She breathes heavily, eyes boring into his as he stares back. Whatever she sees convinces her.

"We didn't learn anything." She swallows and twitches in his grasp. "Yusuf's defenses knew about us right away. We tried to build it back up but the dream collapsed."

"That's it?"

"That's it." Arthur digs his knee into her stomach slightly and she gasps. "That's it, really! I swear!"

Arthur smiles and shoots her in the head.

When Robert, Melissa, and Kathryn gasp awake they are alone. The hotel room is bare, the curtains are draw and there is a note on the table in front of their chairs. Kathryn is the first to stand up. The letter says: "One warning is all you get."

What the note doesn't say is that the sedative they used to pull the three under has a side effect which leaves the user with nightmares of their dream. For weeks every night their dreams will replay and there is nothing they can do to stop it. Just a parting gift among enemies for a little bit of pay back.

"They didn't learn anything." Arthur puts the third PASIV case in the trunk of his car and slips into the driver seat. "Though Kathryn did pack a punch."

"Aw," Ariadne closes her car door and leans forward to ruffle Arthur's hair from behind. "Were you sufficiently frightening though?"

Arthur growls and jerks his head away from Ariadne's hand. Eames snorts and gives Ariadne a look.

"Sufficiently frightening? Do I detect a tone of triumph?" Eames turns around in his seat. "Ariadne, did you show off?"

Ariadne leans back against the seat. "Yes."

Arthur shakes his head as Eames turns back around. Arthur points at Eames' seat belt and gives Ariadne a look in the rear view mirror. They both click their seat belts in with a flourish.

"Well," Eames props his elbow up on the edge of the window and touches his chin. "That little chemist was quite a frightened bunny. I'm surprised he hasn't tripped and bashed his brain in a dream yet."

"There's still time," Ariadne says.

"Not if they listen properly," Arthur corrects and starts the car.

Eames chuckles, a slight undercurrent of menace to the sound. "Oh, I do hope they don't."

"Enough." Arthur spins the wheel. "We are done with them."

Ariadne looks up at the building with a grin as they drive away. "Sleep well!"

It takes a month but Yusuf's sight completely returns just in time for a visit from Arthur, Ariadne and Eames with the latter wearing green tweed and paisley; must test out the eyesight. Ariadne brings presents for Yusuf's two younger children and Arthur brings chocolates for Cala. Eames brings Yusuf a case of glass vials filled with yellow and orange liquids.

"I thought you may have missed this."

Yusuf touches the fine wood of the case, a familiar chip on the edge of the lid from when Yusuf's son once hit it with a cricket ball. Yusuf smiles and does not ask what happened to the extractors who 'borrowed' it.

Eames grins and taps Yusuf's head beside his eyes. "Best to have things where they belong."

"Ah, now if that were true would you not be in jail?"

Eames shakes his head. "Good to have seen you too, Yusuf."

Ariadne grips Yusuf's shoulder. "He's so sweet."

Yusuf smiles at the three of them then leads them out with hands on their backs. Arthur shakes Yusuf's hand and Ariadne kisses his cheek.

"Take care of that brain," Arthur says.

"Of course."

In the doorway Eames suddenly turns around and gives Yusuf an impulsive hug. Yusuf just chuckles into the embrace, Arthur and Ariadne watching. Eames lets go and nods.

Yusuf waves once as they walk away. "Thank you, my friends."


End file.
